DOCSIS is an international standard for adding high bandwidth data transfer to existing cable television systems. Recent changes in the DOCSIS specifications have increased the spectrum, allowing much higher bandwidth to be achieved in a DOCSIS system. As a result, many cable operators are exploring and deploying IPTV-over-DOCSIS systems enabling an enhanced end-user experience for television as compared to the traditional cable television experience. In addition, Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) technologies are being explored, and the CableLabs forum has created Multicast ABR specifications for Multicast ABR over Cable.
Ericsson has performed extensive research and development in the fields of MABR delivery, bandwidth management, policy management, and Quality of Experience (QoE) in both a traditional switched cable environment and an IPTV-over-DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) environment. DOCSIS has been referenced in that research, but by the nature of cable systems, the DSL systems and methods primarily utilized in that research are not optimal in an IPTV-over-DOCSIS environment. The management of bandwidth for MABR is vastly different in an IPTV-over-DOCSIS environment than in a DSL environment.